From DailyTech: RadioShack isn't the only retailer closing stores this week. According to CNN, Staples announced that it would close hundreds of members of its own chain.
Staples plans to close 225 stores in North America by mid-2015, which equates to about 12 percent of its North American stores total.
Staples is looking to save about $500 million annually with these most recent closings and some other avenues to reduce costs.
Staples has seen weak sales recently, leading to the latest round of store closings. The retailer closed 40 stores in North America back in 2013 as well.
What's hurting Staples' sales is increased competition from online retailers like Amazon, where users can simply jump online to buy what they want and typically get the item for a cheaper price than brick-and-mortars (and even free shipping at times).
Staples also has steeper competition with other brick-and-mortars, such as Office Depot, which bought Office Max for $1.2 billion a year ago. Combining these two chains offers more locations to choose from.
In Staples' latest quarterly earnings report, online sales grew 10 percent compared to a year ago, but in-store sales fell 7 percent.
Earlier this week, RadioShack announced that it is closing 1,100 stores across the U.S. due to a harsh holiday season with deeper cuts than expected. These 1,100 stores represent about a fifth of its total, with about 4,000 stores remaining once the closings are complete.
The drop in holiday sales for 2013 left RadioShack with a loss of $400 million USD for that year.
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